WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Rick Scott applauded the passage of his amendment to add his bipartisan American Security Drone Act to the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This legislation bans federal agencies from buying and operating Chinese-made drones.

Senator Rick Scott said, “I thank my colleagues in the Senate for supporting my and Senator Warner’s bipartisan American Security Drone Act, and Congressman Gallagher for leading the charge in the House. For years, I’ve been sounding the alarm on the risks that Chinese-made drones pose to United States’ national security, and for years I’ve fought to pass my American Security Drone Act to STOP the U.S. from buying drones manufactured in nations identified as national security threats. The U.S. cannot and will not sit idly by while Xi and the Chinese Communist Party operate within the confines of our government to spy and gather intel on our nation through drones from Chinese-based companies like DJI. And we will never cater to the whims of high-powered lobbyists backed by these companies attempting to convince Washington politicians and bureaucrats this is acceptable. I look forward to this important legislation becoming law.”

Senator Mark Warner said, “The United States should lead the world in drone production and investment, and we must continue to build up domestic production of unmanned systems. And as we continue to invest in this industry, it’s crucial that national security remains a priority. Our reliance on drones from foreign adversaries like the People’s Republic of China, which has shown time and time again it will do whatever it takes to get its hands on sensitive American data, is extremely risky. We need to take steps to protect our information from countries classified as security threats, and I am glad to see our bipartisan amendment adopted as part of the NDAA.”

The American Security Drone Act:

• Prohibits federal departments and agencies from procuring certain foreign commercial off-the-shelf drones or covered unmanned aircraft systems manufactured or assembled in countries identified as national security threats, and provides a timeline to end current use of these drones.
• Prohibits the use of federal funds awarded through certain contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements to state or local governments from being used to purchase foreign commercial off-the-shelf drones or covered unmanned aircraft systems manufactured or assembled in a country identified as a national security threat.
• Requires the Comptroller General of the United States to submit a report to Congress detailing the amount of foreign commercial off-the-shelf drones and covered unmanned aircraft systems procured by federal departments and agencies from countries identified as national security threats.

See more on Senator Scott’s priorities for the FY 2024 NDAA HERE.

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